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PY105 pre-class video for session 23 - rotational kinematics
In this video, we introduce rotational kinematics. In other words, we start talking about how we describe the motion of rotating objects. One of the themes of the video is the introduction of a new set of variables - we'll talk about why we need [...]these variables, and how they're connected to the one-dimensional motion variables we're already familiar with. Another big theme of the video is the parallels that exist between one-dimensional straight-line motion and rotational motion, including the fact that the equations we use for rotation have exactly the same form as the equations we used for one-dimensional motion with constant acceleration.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 43 - Radioactivity
This video is the last video of the year. In this video, we look at radioactivity. First, we look at some general trends in the chart of the nuclides. Then, we look at how a sample of radioactive material decays over time. Finally, we wrap things up [...]with a sample calculation.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 42 - The nucleus
In this video, we talk about some general features of the atomic nucleus, such as what it is made up of, how large it is, and what keeps it together. We will also look at the idea of the mass defect, which is related to the binding energy of the [...]nucleus. The video includes a calculation of the mass defect of a carbon-12 atom.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 39 - The Photoelectric effect
In this video, we go over the concepts underlying the photoelectric effect. It was for his explanation of the photoelectric effect that Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel prize in Physics, in fact. What is it? When light illuminates a surface, it [...]is possible, at least sometimes, for the light to cause electrons to be emitted from that surface. This effect played an important role in the development of our understanding of light, being explained in terms not of light acting as a wave, but as light acting as packets of energy we call photons.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 38 - Special Relativity
This video serves as a quick introduction to special relativity. Instead of focusing on things that are different in different reference frames, the video focuses on the spacetime interval. The spacetime interval is a quantity that all observers, at [...]least in constant-velocity reference frames, agree on. We'll make use of the spacetime interval to do a sample problem, which has a bearing on relativistic effects such as time dilation, length contraction, and the twin paradox.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 36 - Diffraction
In this video, we discuss the idea of diffraction, which is the spreading out of a wave when it encounters an opening or an obstacle. We'll go over the equation for single-slit diffraction. We'll also talk some more about the history of our [...]understanding of light, in which diffraction played an important role.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 35 - Interference in two dimensions
In this video, we look at general characteristics of the interference pattern produced by two sources that are emitting identical waves. Such an interference pattern is produced by a laser illuminating two narrow slits (a double slit), and by two [...]speakers, emitting sound waves, connected to the same source. Understanding the pattern comes down to the path-length difference: if you stand at a particular location and measure the distance you are from each source, the path-length difference is the difference between those two distances. If the path-length difference is an integer number of wavelengths, constructive interference results. If the path-length difference is an integer number of wavelengths plus half a wavelength, destructive interference results.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 34 - The human eye and the camera
In this relatively brief video, we compare and contrast the human eye and the camera. Optically speaking, these two devices are actually very similar, with the biggest difference coming in the way the focusing is done.
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PY106 pre-class video for session 33 - Image formation by lenses
In this video, we go over the basics of image formation by lenses. We start by comparing and contrasting lenses and mirrors. We continue by going over the equations we use for lenses (these turn out to be the same as those for mirrors, aside from the [...]lensmaker's equation that gives the focal length of a lens). Finally, we discuss the process of drawing a ray diagram for a lens.
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